Police have arrested a sixth person in connection with the murder of three children in a house fire in Walkden

A sixth arrest has been made in connection with the murder of three children in a fire in Walkden.

Shortly before 5am on Monday 11 December 2017, emergency services were called to Jackson Street in Walkden to reports of a house fire.

The fire service sought to put the fire under control and rescue the seven people inside.

A 25-year-old man has today, Tuesday 12 December 2017, been arrested on suspicion of murder.

This follows the arrest of five people yesterday in connection with the investigation.

Of those arrested two men, aged 19 and 20, who were arrested on suspicion of murder and a 24-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender have been bailed pending further enquiries.

A mandatory referral has been made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission due to the fact there was previous police contact.

“We now have a much deeper understanding of the devastating events which lead to the tragic deaths of three children in Walkden in the early hours of yesterday morning and have made significant progress in this investigation.

“Although no formal identification has taken place, the children are believed to be 14-year-old Demi Pearson, 8-year-old Brandon Pearson and 7-year-old Lacie Pearson. Their mum and 3-year-old little sister are still fighting for their lives in hospital.

“I cannot imagine what their family are going through, they are obviously completely devastated, the loss of a child in any circumstances is unthinkable; to lose three in such deplorable circumstances, words cannot describe. My heart breaks for them, it really does. Our specially trained family liaison officers are supporting the family and we are doing all that we can to get them the answers they quite rightly deserve.

“We have a full team of detectives working on this case and now believe this be a targeted attack on the house after collecting CCTV from the area.

“We are so very grateful to the members of the public who have come forward and given us information to help with our investigation.

“We are continuing to appeal for information and have made arrests but the hard work has really just begun and justice can only be done with the help and support of the local community.

“This will be a painstaking investigation for all involved. We will continue to work with the fire service to establish the cause of the fire but this is not a quick process.

“Finally, I would like to assure local people that we are doing everything in our power to get to the bottom of this and find those responsible for the murder of three innocent children and the attempted murder of their sister and their mother. There will be an increased number of officers on the streets to reassure the local people and anyone with any questions or concerns is asked to speak to those officers.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call us on 0161 856 8797 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.